Judge: 'Policies were violated' in Thomas case

Ex-Fullerton police officer Manuel Ramos reacts as the not guilty verdict is read in the Kelly Thomas murder trial Monday. His lawyer John Barnett is at right.MINDY SCHAUER, STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER

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Ex-Fullerton police Cpl. Jay Cicinelli awaits the verdict to be read in the murder trial of Kelly Thomas. He was found not guilty of killing homeless man Kelly Thomas Monday in Santa Ana. MINDY SCHAUER, STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER

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This undated photo provided by Ron Thomas shows his son, Kelly Thomas. It’s been more than two years since Thomas died in a violent confrontation with police. COURTESY: RON THOMAS

SANTA ANA – The judge who presided over the historic trial of two Fullerton police officers in the 2011 death of a homeless man – which ended in not guilty verdicts earlier this week – said Friday he thought they violated Fullerton Police Department policies but the case could go either way.

Superior Court Judge William Froeberg’s first public comments about the case came just before he dismissed charges against a third former Fullerton policeman charged in the death of transient Kelly Thomas, 37.

“In reading the policy manual from the Fullerton Police Department, it was certainly my opinion that their policies were violated,” Froeberg said. “However, the law in the state of California is when there are two reasonable interpretations of the evidence, and one points to innocence and one points to guilt, the jury must adopt the one that points to innocence.”

People tend to view a surveillance video of the altercation between Thomas and the officers -- People’s Exhibit No. 3 – “through the eyes of their heart and not their head,” said the judge, who has been on the bench for 26 years and has presided over many of the county's most notorious murder cases.

“It is my view that certainly there is sufficient evidence to convict, but there is also sufficient evidence to acquit,” Froeberg continued. Later, he added: “The evidence is just subject to too many interpretations to reach that ultimate level.”

Froeberg, Orange County’s second-longest-tenured judge, presided over the five-week trial of former Fullerton officers Manuel Ramos -- the first police officer in Orange County history to be charged with murder while on duty -- and Jay Cicinelli.

On Friday, Froeberg granted District Attorney Tony Rackauckas’ motion to dismiss charges of involuntary manslaughter and use of excessive force against a third former officer, Joseph Wolfe.

Froeberg said that when he first analyzed the case and viewed the 33-minute video that captured the July 5, 2011, altercation between Thomas and the officers, his initial reaction was: “This is going to be a tough case.”

Ex-policeman Ramos, 39, was charged with second-degree murder and involuntary manslaughter. Cicinelli, 41, was charged with involuntary manslaughter and assault under color of authority.

Froeberg said he was mindful of the publicity the case generated and people’s responses.

“So I guess this is my one opportunity to express certain observations that I have made … after sitting through all of the evidence, reviewing it, what this verdict by the jury was not – (it) was not condoning the activity of certain officers. It was not an exoneration of certain officers,” he said.

He does not see the evidence proving beyond a reasonable doubt that a crime was committed, the standard for conviction in a criminal case.

Wolfe’s attorney Vicki Podberesky said after the brief hearing her client was “grateful and relieved.” Wolfe was in the courtroom for the hearing but did not speak and declined through his attorney to comment afterward.

Neither her client nor any police officer is “happy the encounter … would end up the way it did,” Podberesky said. “But that being said we believe that force that was used was within policy and reasonable.”

Thomas’ father, Ron Thomas, told Froeberg he was opposed to the dismissal of charges.

“I still feel that Mr. Wolfe contributed greatly to my son's demise. The brutal attack that he put on my son was uncalled for,” he said.

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